Giuseppe Fioravanti ( 1795 – ?) was an Italian

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

singer active during the first half of the 19th century. Although one of the most important and popular

basso buffo A bass is a type of classical male singing voice and has the lowest vocal range of all voice types. According to ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'', a bass is typically classified as having a vocal range extending from around the second E b ...

s of his generation, there is only a relatively small amount of information available about his life. He had a highly fruitful partnership with the Teatro Nuovo in Naples and is best known today for creating roles in the world premieres of numerous operas by Gaetano Donizetti. Kutsch, Karl-Josef and

Riemens, Leo Leonardus Antony Marinus Riemens (3 December 1910 – 3 April 1985) was a Dutch musicologist and cultural journalist. He wrote a book about Maria Callas, and together with Karl-Josef Kutsch began a reference book about opera singers in 1962, which ...

(2004). ''

Großes Sängerlexikon ''Großes Sängerlexikon'' (''Biographical Dictionary of Singers'', literally: Large singers' lexicon) is a single-field dictionary of singers in classical music, edited by Karl-Josef Kutsch and Leo Riemens and first published in 1987. The first ...

'', 4th Edition, Vol. 4, .

Walter de Gruyter Walter de Gruyter GmbH, known as De Gruyter (), is a German scholarly publishing house specializing in academic literature. History The roots of the company go back to 1749 when Frederick the Great granted the Königliche Realschule in Be ...

Biography

Fioravanti was the son of opera composer

Valentino Fioravanti Valentino Fioravanti (11 September 1764 – 16 June 1837) was a celebrated Italian composer of ''opera buffas''. Fioravanti was born in Rome. One of the best ''opera buffa'' composers between Domenico Cimarosa and Gioacchino Rossini, he was ...

(1764–1837) and the older brother of opera composer

Vincenzo Fioravanti Vincenzo Fioravanti (5 April 1799 – 28 March 1877) was a prolific Italian opera composer active in Naples. He composed 39 operas, of which 34 were performed in his lifetime. Like his father, Valentino Fioravanti, he specialised in the ''opera b ...

(1799–1877). His exact year of birth is unknown but it is likely that he was born sometime around 1795. Not much is known about his musical training, although he probably received some education from his father. Fioravanti's first known stage appearance was in 1817 at the Teatro del Corso in

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...

as Masetto in

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

's ''

Don Giovanni ''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; Vienna (1788) title: , literally ''The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Its subject is a centuries-old Spanis ...

''. He repeated that role for his debut at the

Teatro della Pergola The Teatro della Pergola is an historic opera house in Florence, Italy. It is located in the centre of the city on the Via della Pergola, from which the theatre takes its name. It was built in 1656 under the patronage of Cardinal Gian Carlo de' Med ...

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

a year later. In 1818 he was committed to the

Teatro San Luca The Teatro Goldoni (formerly Teatro San Luca, Teatro Vendramin di San Salvatore) is one of the opera houses and theatres of Venice. Today it is the home of the Teatro Stabile del Veneto. The modern theatre is located near the Rialto Bridge in the ...

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

where he sang Brunone in the world premiere of Gaetano Donizetti's '' Enrico di Borgogna''; notably that composer's first opera to be staged. He sang in several performances at

La Scala La Scala (, , ; abbreviation in Italian of the official name ) is a famous opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the ' (New Royal-Ducal Theatre alla Scala). The premiere performan ...

in 1819-1820, notably portraying Capellio in the world premiere of

Gioachino Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer who gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano pieces, and some sacred music. He set new standards f ...

's ''

Bianca e Falliero ''Bianca e Falliero, ossia Il consiglio dei tre'' (English: ''Bianca and Falliero, or The Counsel of Three'') is a two-act operatic ''melodramma'' by Gioachino Rossini to an Italian libretto by Felice Romani. The libretto was based on Antoine- ...

'' (1819), Robert Bruce in the premiere of

Giovanni Pacini Giovanni Pacini (11 February 17966 December 1867) was an Italian composer, best known for his operas. Pacini was born in Catania, Sicily, the son of the buffo Luigi Pacini, who was to appear in the premieres of many of Giovanni's operas. The fami ...

's ''Vallace, o L'eroe scozzese'' (1820), and a part in the premiere of

Michele Carafa Michele Enrico Francesco Vincenzo Aloisio Paolo Carafa di Colobrano (17 November 1787 – 26 July 1872) was an Italian opera composer. He was born in Naples and studied in Paris with Luigi Cherubini. He was Professor of counterpoint at the Par ...

's ''I due Figaro'' (1820). In 1821 he appeared at the

Teatro Apollo The Tor di Nona is a neighborhood in Rome's ''rione'' '' Ponte''. It lies in the heart of the city's historic center, between the ''Via dei Coronari'' and the Tiber River. Its name commemorates the Torre dell'Annona, a mediaeval tower which once s ...

in Rome as Aliprando in the first performance of Rossini's ''

Matilde di Shabran ''Matilde di Shabran'' (full title: ''Matilde di Shabran, o sia Bellezza e Cuor di ferro''; English: ''Matilde of Shabran, or Beauty and Ironheart'') is a '' melodramma giocoso'' (''opera semiseria'') in two acts by Gioachino Rossini to a librett ...

''. In 1822 Fioravanti joined the roster of principal singers at the Teatro Nuovo in Naples. That house remained his primary home for the remainder of his career. He appeared in several world premieres in operas by Donizetti at that house, including Don Sebastiano Alvarez in '' La zingara'' (1822), Ortenzio in '' Il fortunato inganno'' (1823), Claudio di Liverpool in '' Emilia di Liverpool'' (1824), Iwano in '' Otto mesi in due ore'' (1827), and Max in ''

Betly ''Betly, ossia La capanna svizzera'' ("Betly, or The Swiss Chalet") is a ''dramma giocoso'' in two acts (originally one) by the Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. The composer wrote the Italian libretto after Eugène Scribe and Mélésville's l ...

'' (1836). In 1825 he sang in the first performance of

Saverio Mercadante Giuseppe Saverio Raffaele Mercadante (baptised 17 September 179517 December 1870) was an Italian composer, particularly of operas. While Mercadante may not have retained the international celebrity of Gaetano Donizetti or Gioachino Rossini beyond ...

's ''Il signore del villaggio'', a revised version of his 1824 opera ''Il podestà di Burgos''. In 1824 he sang in the premiere of his father's opera ''Ogni eccesso è vizioso'' and appeared at the Teatro Nuovo in the premiere of his brother's opera, ''Il Pirata'', in 1849. He also sang there in the world premieres of '' Don Checco'' in 1850 and ''L'atrabilare'' in 1856.ICCU (Istituto Centrale per il Catalogo Unico delle biblioteche italiane)
MUS0288653
Retrieved 8 July 2017 . Fioravanti also appeared at the

Teatro di San Carlo The Real Teatro di San Carlo ("Royal Theatre of Saint Charles"), as originally named by the Bourbon monarchy but today known simply as the Teatro (di) San Carlo, is an opera house in Naples, Italy, connected to the Royal Palace and adjacent t ...

in Naples on a number of occasions during his career. At that house he portrayed Blinval in the premiere of Donizetti's '' I pazzi per progetto'' (1830) and Meledor in the premiere of Mercadante 's '' Zaira'' (1831) among other roles. His repertoire also included a large number of parts in operas by

Julius Benedict Sir Julius Benedict (27 November 1804 – 5 June 1885) was a German-born composer and conductor, resident in England for most of his career. Life and music Benedict was born in Stuttgart, the son of a Jewish banker, and in 1820 learnt compo ...

François-Adrien Boieldieu François-Adrien Boieldieu (, also ) (16 December 1775 – 8 October 1834) was a French composer, mainly of operas, often called "the French Mozart". His date of birth was also cited as December 15 by his biographer and writer Lucien Augé de Lass ...

Antonio Cagnoni Antonio Cagnoni (8 February 1828 – 30 April 1896) was an Italian composer. Primarily known for his twenty operas, his work is characterized by his use of leitmotifs and moderately dissonant harmonies. In addition to writing music for the sta ...

, Pacini,

Errico Petrella Errico Petrella (10 December 18137 April 1877) was an Italian opera composer. Life and career Petrella was born at Palermo, capital of the Kingdom of Sicily. A conservative of the Neapolitan school, he was the most successful Italian compose ...

, and

Lauro Rossi Lauro Rossi (born in Macerata, 19 February 1810;Some sources say 1812. died in Cremona, 5 May 1885), was an Italian composer, particularly of operas. There is no known connection with Luigi Rossi (1597–1653). Life and career Rossi studied i ...

. The date of his death is unknown. His two sons,

(1827–79) and

Luigi Fioravanti Luigi Fioravanti (born January 22, 1981) is an American mixed martial artist who last competed in 2016. A professional since 2004, he is perhaps best known for competing in the UFC, but has also fought for M-1 Global and the Maximum Fighting Cham ...

(1829–87), also had successful opera careers as

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fioravanti, Giuseppe 1790s births 1850s deaths Operatic basses Italian basses 19th-century Italian male opera singers